15 June 2012

Engagement and Wedding Rings

The Queen wears her wedding and engagement rings essentially every day, though thanks to her glove-wearing habit we only spot them once in a while.

The Queen's Engagement Ring

The platinum and diamond engagement ring has a central 3 carat solitaire flanked by diamonds on each side and was made from a dismantled tiara that belonged to Prince Philip's mother. Read more at Order of Splendor.

Her wedding ring is made from Welsh gold. The Clogau gold came from a piece of gold from the 1911 closure of the Clogau St. David's mine; the gold was given to the Queen's parents for their wedding in 1923 and furnished rings for the Queen Mother, the Queen, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and Diana, Princess of Wales before it ran out.

Subsequent gifts have replenished the royal stock of Welsh gold, allowing the tradition to continue. A gift from the Royal British Legion went towards the ring for Sarah, Duchess of York. A 60th birthday gift of gold from the Gwynfynydd mine might have provided the rings for the Earl and Countess of Wessex. And the tradition continues today: the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding ring was made of a piece of Welsh gold the Queen gave Prince William after the couple's engagement.